Only corner I ever have to down shift to first is if another vehicle is slowing traffic to a standstill or if the surface is so slippery I have to do so. Second gear is sufficient for 99-44/100% of the corners I encounter when rolling already. Second gear is perfect for a 10-20 mph corner, maybe even third if I'm loafing along.

 

The only time I'll do that is if there's a sudden obstacle in my path of travel and I have to slow down. If I'm leaned over very far, I'll only shift if I'm positive it'll be totally smooth. Otherwise, I'll pull in the clutch to cut power to the rear wheel and drag the rear brake a bit. So far, that's been good enough.

 

I always take tight corners in first gear. It depends on the motorcycle and how it's geared. I don't shift into second until about 30 MPH riding normally.

 

You ride a 600cc sport or 1k SS don't you?

1st @ 30 for me is probably 5-6k RPMs.

 

If I've got time - I do downshift to 1'st to make the corner.

However, as I said on another thread - there's a corner near my house which is different. The corner is too tight to ride through in 2'nd gear. But as I approach the corner I am going down a steep hill, and quite often there is traffic following me. I don't like to slow down too much because I don't trust the drivers who are tailgating. So in that circumstance I slow down in 2'nd gear, pull in the clutch as I go into the corner, keep the clutch disengaged until I reach the apex of my turn, and then re-engage the clutch and accelerate out of the corner in 2'nd gear. It's not an ideal way to ride a bike, but let's me enter the corner faster than if I had slowed down to 1'st gear.

dT

 

Taking corners on my Sv650 in first makes smooth throttle manipulation much more difficult.

 

As Dods stated, bikes are different, my old Sprint, sometimes yes if it was a very sharp tight curve. Though even with that bike not very often. On the tiger, never. The difference is torque availability and gearing.

 

Alright, thanks guys. Their are many sharp corners around my block that are more than a 90 degree with a very steep uphill. I been trying to gain more control with these corners without the need for wide turns (clearly safety reasons) and I can't seem to get a couple of these sharp right hand corners without dropping to first and going snail speed into it and even then, I feel I'm still turning too wide.

Any pointers or tips?

 

Power on a bit, drag the rear brake and lean a bit. Dragging the rear brake smooths out the power pulses and loads the engine a bit to keep it smooth. That's something many recommend (including me for about 35 years now) to people who have trouble with the really tight corners in some motorcycle license tests. I do it all the time on slow tight loose gravel road turns.

No clue on the speeds I'm doing in slow tight turns, I let the bike "tell" me what to do. I go totally by feel. No need to see speed or rpm since both are low enough to be irrelevant.

 

You want to take corners at a speed that is safe. If you find you are pulling wide, you are going too fast.

Most motorcycles will lean farther than many people think. The tires are made to hold pretty tight in decent conditions as well. Most motorcycles will scrape hard parts long before the tires will let loose in a corner at normal speeds. Wet leaves and gravel can ruin your day if they show up unexpectedly. Use a lot of caution (slower entry speed) if the road surface is potentially slippery.

 

I was just about to add something similar. The problem may be more fear of leaning than speed. Go out to an parking lot (empty hopefully) and practice turns. Set up cones or use the lines in the lot and just spin circles. Get use to the feel of the bike. You will be surprised at how much more you can lean and how well the bike will hold. Running wide is a typical symptom of not leaning enough.

 

My normal downshift point to first is about 10 MPH, I upshift to second at around 20 MPH. Many sharp turns put me between those speeds and I am still trying to figure out which is a better gear for me and my ride. If I roll through in second I am at 1500 RPM or less coming out of the turn, far from ideal. On the other hand, I don't like to be pushing the top of first gear as I exit a turn. Today, in a light rain, I used 2nd gear most of the time but it was a bit on the lugging side of things for my engine. Ask me again after I have a few thousand miles on my new bike and I will have a definitive answer. Today I rolled over 385 miles on it and am still doing the break in ride.

 

My normal downshift point to first is about 10 MPH, I upshift to second at around 20 MPH. Many sharp turns put me between those speeds and I am still trying to figure out which is a better gear for me and my ride. If I roll through in second I am at 1500 RPM or less coming out of the turn, far from ideal. On the other hand, I don't like to be pushing the top of first gear as I exit a turn.

Personally, I would shift in the turn if that was the case. If I take a long left turn across several lanes, I will often shift to second near the end of the turn. I'm usually well out of a right hand turn and upright before I have to shift into second.

 

I'll keep the rear break in mind when I ride again tomorrow.

At the suggestion about leaning - I'll practice more heavy, low speed leaning in the parking lot tomorrow. It'll only help me and give me more confidence in my self and the bike.

I'll report tomorrow how it goes.

 

So, I today while practicing my super sharp turns, and leans, I learned something pretty damn quick. The rubber tar that they use to fill cracks with, becomes slippery when its very hot out.

As I was leaning more and more (the area I was practicing had a lot of fill in rubber), I could feel less and less traction in the rear wheel. Luckly, I was only going 10~ mph around the sharp corner when the rear wheel slipped. Double luck, I stomped on he ground with my right foot and pulled bike back up right so I did not fall. Damn near gave me a mini heart attack.

Now back to the lot to practice some more!

 

Look back up to post #9 above and re-read the whole thing carefully.

 

Yup. Tar snakes suck.

 

If you have a dangerous intersection, stop. Once you have stopped, evaluate traffic and don't move an inch until it is safe to do so. We all must survive the hazards around us and a particularly hazardous intersection deserves to live by its own rules.